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Pet Grooming

Grooming your pet is important for more reasons than just a “beauty regimen.” Maintaining your pet from head to paw is a way to keep your dog or cat in a good healthy state. The extra attention given provides you the opportunity to examine your pet for any lumps, bumps, abrasions, parasites or other illnesses and abnormalities. At the same time, your pet and you are bonding, while the dog or cat is being primped, walking away strutting around like the king or queen of the house.

Grooming a pet should begin when it is young or as soon as a new critter joins the family. For many dogs and cats, the bath and other primping rituals are necessary but not a favorite of theirs. Starting early at least gets the pet used to the process so it doesn’t get stressed when it’s time to be maintained for good health.

Begin by bathing your pet with a protein-enriched shampoo. The water and bathing area should be warm. All necessary items need to be at your fingertips before starting the process, such as the shampoo, conditioner, towels, a tooth brush and toothpaste, brush and comb, cotton balls and ear cleaning solution. Long-haired pets must be brushed prior to the bath to check for and remove mats. Wet your pet down thoroughly and apply the shampoo. Generate into a rich lather and rinse really well. Long-haired pets need to be treated with a conditioner. Rub it in and let it sit for a few minutes before rinsing out the conditioner.

While the pet is still in the tub, this is a perfect, but not only time, to perform some all-important oral care. Place some special flavored toothpaste on a small toothbrush and begin the process starting at the back teeth and work your way forward until you reach all the pearly whites. Actually, the teeth brushing should be done at least once a week to prevent dental disease. Do not use human toothpaste.

Rinse your dog completely with warm water and before removing from the tub, clean the ears. Place some ear cleaning solution on a cotton ball and wipe out each ear as deeply as you can reach without digging further into the ear canal. Wipe out each crevice of the ear flap. Do not use cotton swabs that may damage the ear drum if you get too deeply inside the ear canal.

Towel dry your dog or cat thoroughly, and gently use a small blow dryer on a warm to cool setting to completely dry your pet, especially during colder weather. Be careful that the dryer air does not get too hot. Once the bathing process is finished, another important aspect to grooming is keeping the nails trimmed. It is easier for animals with white nails because the inner vein is visible when clipping them. For dark nails, you will want to clip just a tiny bit or leave the job to a professional groomer or your vet. If you do clip a nail and it begins to bleed, rest assured that your pet will not bleed to death. It always looks worse than it is. Keep some “quik stop” on hand, which is a styptic powder or gel used to stop the bleeding. Just dab off the blood and press the quik stop to the nail, holding in place a few moments.

A final step is to brush your dog completely from head to toe. Brushing should be done frequently in between regular grooming in order to stimulate the natural oils of the skin and healthy fur growth. It also helps in managing knots and mats that can create discomfort for your long-haired pet.

Getting a young pet used to the grooming experience may be just a matter of introducing all the tools to your pet, such as the toothbrush, hair brush, nail clippers and all the other items necessary in the process. Even before your pet needs a real haircut or nail trim, play with the feet or ears and use a brush on your dog or cat from the moment it enters your door and joins your family. Such constant handling of the feet, ears and other body parts will make the transition to grooming a much more pleasant experience for your pet.

Remember: If you don’t have the experience or are unsure about clipping your pet’s nails, always consult your vet.